Telephones having headset systems for allowing “hands-free” use are well known, and a great many telephone/headset systems are commercially available. One problem with headset telephones, however, is that passers-by may be unaware that the user of a headset telephone is carrying on a conversation, and may therefore not afford the headset user the same common courtesies as when a telephone user is holding a telephone handset to his or her ear. On the other hand, passers-by who notice that a headset user is wearing a headset may incorrectly assume that the user is carrying on a telephone conversation, possibly causing the passers-by to take unnecessary steps such as speaking in hushed tones or foregoing face-to-face conversations with the headset wearer, in order to avoid interrupting the non-existent telephone conversation.
In order to prevent interruptions of phone conversations when a headset is in use it is desirable to have some sort of visual indication that the headset wearer is actively engaged in a phone conversation. With handsets this is intrinsically obvious but headsets may be worn whether or not the user is actually engaged in a telephone call. Numerous schemes for “on-line” indicators have been proposed in the prior art.
In the prior art, a light source is mounted on the tip of the headset boom and wires are run down the boom to provide control of the light source. Alternatively, the light source may be mounted at the base of the boom and a plastic “light-pipe” is utilized to convey the light down the length of the boom. However, prior art on-line indicators have several disadvantages. Placing the light source at the tip of the boom requires that the boom tip be more bulky than otherwise required which is undesirable from a cosmetic standpoint. Using a plastic light pipe may also increase the size of the boom due to the need for a mouldable thickness and sufficient cross-section.
In the prior art, microphones may be mounted at the base of the boom, and an acoustic waveguide utilized to transmit sound waves associated with user speech from a port at the tip of the boom through the acoustic waveguide in the boom to the microphone. While an acoustic waveguide could be molded into a traditional “light-pipe”, strength and manufacturing concerns as well as acoustic performance and/or assembly difficulties limit the minimum external dimensions of the boom in such an approach.
Thus, improved headsets and microphone booms with on-line indicators are needed.